Makes 1 Loaf
1 whole head of garlic
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup butter, softened
3 tablespoons parsley
Kosher Salt
1 loaf fresh Italian bread, split horizontally
Directions:
Preheat oven to 425. Cut the top off the head of garlic (about half an inch, like if you were cutting the ends off an onion) place on a square of foil. Drizzle olive oil over the top of it and wrap the foil around it to form a sealed packet. Bake for 30 minutes then remove and allow to cool. Hold garlic upside down over mixing bowl and squeeze until all the cloves have all dropped into the bowl. Add the softened butter and parsley and mix on low until well blended. Spread onto both sides of the Italian bread and sprinkle generously with kosher salt. Place buttered sides up on a foil-lined baking sheet and broil 5-6 inches from the heating element for 2-3 minutes until butter is melted and bread is toasty. Slice and serve.
My all-time favorite garlic bread recipe! Delicious and easy. It may sound complicated and/or time consuming, but it really isn't that much more effort than dealing with those frozen things and the taste is a million times better! Mmmm, now I want garlic bread.
Makes 8 Servings
2 Packages Frozen Gorton's Shrimp Scampi
1 (16oz) package of angel hair pasta
1/2-1 cup of pasta water
1/2 cup cream or half & half
1/2 - 1 cup Parmesan
Directions:
Boil pasta as directed. While waiting for water to boil, heat a skillet on medium heat. After adding spaghetti to water, dump contents of shrimp packages in skillet and saute until shrimp is opaque and cooked through. When pasta is done, turn heat off and move pan but do not drain. Using spaghetti servers, transfer pasta to skillet with shrimp and toss to combine. Add 1/2 cup pasta water, cream and parmesan and mix well. Add more water as needed. Taste and if it needs more seasoning, add garlic powder and Italian seasonings. Serve with additional grated parmesan.
Total cheater "recipe" here...this is one of my quick and easy go-to meals when I am pressed for time. It can't even really be called a recipe, but I figured I'd share it in case you guys are like me and never thought of doing this but need something fast and yummy like this. Since the shrimp is frozen raw, it tastes fresh and when they are BOGO at your store, combine that sale with a coupon and you're spending less than a dollar per serving, not to mention saving yourself a boatload of time! If you go order Shrimp Pasta at a restaurant you're paying $12+ per plate...you pay less than they for an entire dish full with this "recipe"! Quick. Easy. Cheap. Delicious. Does it get much better than that? If you want it to be creamy, you can always use 1/2 cup cream and 1/2 cup of the pasta water, as well as 1/2 cup or so of Parmesan. That's always yummy too.
P.S. I've also used Gorton's Grilled Shrimp Scampi too and it is delicious! Only problem is the tails, so you have to remove while cooking or while eating, but if that doesn't bother you, I recommend that product too. I've tried other brands, but they're not as good as Gorton's!
I'm thinking since I mostly post these on Tuesdays I should just start titling my post "Menu Tuesday" LOL. My Mondays have been just too busy to post!
Oh well! Here's my dinner menu for this week:
MONDAY
EASIEST Shrimp Pasta EVER!!
TUESDAY
Beans & Cornbread
WEDNESDAY
Chicken Salad Focaccia
Chips
Carrot Sticks w/ Ranch
THURSDAY
Spaghetti & Meatballs
Garlic Bread
FRIDAY
Rehearsal Dinner
SATURDAY
My sister's wedding!
SUNDAY
Lawry's Lemon Pepper Drumsticks
Steamed Broccoli
Broccoli Cheese Rice
8 Servings
1 package white cake mix
3 tablespoons flour
1 3oz package raspberry jello
4 eggs
1/2 cup water
1 cup oil
1 10oz package frozen raspberries, thawed but NOT drained.
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 lb. powdered sugar
Directions:
Combine cake mix, flour and dry gelatin and mix well. Add water, oil, eggs and half of the bag of raspberries with juice and beat well. Pour into 3 8" pans and bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes. Let cool and remove from pans. Mix the butter, powdered sugar and other half bag of raspberries until well blended. Spread over cooled bottom layer, then place second layer and repeat. Then place the third layer on top and spread icing all around top and sides until all the frosting is used up and cake is fully covered. (Can do a crumb layer of icing...ice thinly sides and top of all three assembled layers...refrigerate for 20-30 minutes...then ice with the remaining frosting.)
THE BEST RASPBERRY CAKE EVER, HANDS DOWN!!!!! Ok, had to get that out. This really is amazing and delicious and flavorful and addicting. If you don't want three layers you can always put in a rectangular pan, but I like the layers and I could eat the whole cake if I let myself. It's THAT good. Trust me! And this coming from a chocolate girl! Do yourself a favor and try it. It's perfect for Valentine's Day because of it's bright pink color. Make it for your sweetie or just make it for yourself. Either way...just MAKE it!
Makes 30 Meatballs
1.5 lbs ground beef
1 cup Italian bread crumbs
2 eggs
1/2 cup parmesan
2 tablespoons parsley
4 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
1/2 cup raisins (use up to a cup, depending on how many you like in your meatballs)
Salt
Pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
Directions:
Mix everything together with your HANDS in a large bowl only until everything is incorporated and well-mixed--do not over-mix or you'll have tough meatballs. The mixture should feel gritty and mushy. Roll into 1.5" balls and saute in preheated olive oil over medium heat in a large skillet until lightly browned on the outside, about 3-4 minutes. Place on lightly greased cookie sheet about half an inch to an inch apart in uniform lines. You can immediately cover with foil and bake at 375 for 15-20 minutes or cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate up to 8 hours and then cover with foil and bake at 350 for 20 minutes.
Quick and easy meatball recipe that my kids love. The raisins give it the perfect sweetness and it's soo good. My kids request "homemade meatballs with raisins" all the time and there are never any leftovers. These are great in spaghetti or any other kind of pasta and they make delicious meatball subs too. Of course you can omit the raisins if you like, but you really should try it with the raisins at least once! Even if you don't like raisins, I bet you'd like them in these meatballs. Very delicious and very Italian. YUM.
Makes 10 Servings
1 16oz box uncooked rotini pasta
1 32oz jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce, or 4 cups of homemade sauce
1 32oz container ricotta cheese
2 cups shredded Italian cheese blend (It usually has 6 cheeses: Mozzarella, Provolone, Parmesan, Fontina, Romano and Asiago)
1/2 - 1 cup parmesan cheese
2 eggs
1 tablespoon parsley
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
Extra shredded Italian cheese blend for topping
Directions:
Boil pasta according to package directions and drain. Mix with a little sauce to keep from sticking and set aside. In a large bowl mix ricotta, shredded Italian cheese, parmesan, eggs, parsley, salt and pepper. Stir in pasta with sauce. Spread a couple tablespoonfuls of sauce in a large 13x9 casserole baking dish. Stir remaining sauce into pasta mixture and pour into baking dish. (Mixture will appear soupy.) Top with additional shredded Italian cheese and bake at 375 for 20-30 minutes until pasta is bubbly and cheese on top is melted.
This was my little "experiment"...I planned to make spaghetti and meatballs but discovered I was out of spaghetti. So I improvised. I made a lasagna filling and mixed it with the rotini and sauce and the result was amazing yumminess. It tasted like lasgana but without the hassle of layering and spreading and it was much easier to fork it up in big mouthfuls. It was a hit in my household, so this was definitely a keeper! I also had already mixed and rolled the scratch meatballs so we served those with the casserole and they were delicious together. Recipe for meatballs will be following shortly. Buon appetito!
Makes 2 1/2 Dozen Cookies
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, melted
1/2 cup cocoa
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
6oz (1/2 a bag) mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup powdered sugar
Directions:
In a large bowl mix together the melted butter, cocoa and sugar. Whisk in the eggs and vanilla. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the chocolate mixture, stirring until well blended. Stir in the chocolate chips. Refrigerate the dough for about 2 hours, or freeze for 30 minutes to an hour if you're in a hurry. Take about a tablespoon and a half of dough and shape into balls then roll in the powdered sugar. Place on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes at 350. Cool on pan for 2 minutes then move to wire rack or paper towels.
These cookies are so delicious you won't be able to help yourself from saying "mmmmm" after your first warm bite. They send out the most amazing scent while baking--your whole house will smell like chocolate. We have a rainy day here today and these cookies are the perfect way to make us feel warm and cozy while the rain pours down outside. They don't usually last longer than an hour in my house!
